clematis, clematis - what's amiss?

I was given a clem as a present several years ago and put it in a tall aluminium container in the front garden hoping it would grow over the car port. To say it never did well is an understatement. It struggled to survive, I think because it's roots constantly got cooked in the day long sun!

So earlier this year I decanted it and planted it in the back garden. I was amazed to find it had a huge and very dense root ball so was in hopes that once it was properly planted it would race away with all that pent up energy! I planted it deep with some fertilizer and mindful of the books saying they like their roots to be cool, covered the area with shingle and then 3" pebbles to do just that. I was excited when, within a couple of weeks, a bunch of strong, healthy looking shoots were sprouting. Then a couple of weeks later, I realised they hadn't come to much and when I investigated, the sprouts had all been nibbled or chewed back!

Would this be birds or snails? What is decapitating my clem?

 

Do you get rabbits in your garden?

 

Definitely not rabbits! Maybe hedgepigs? Nahh!

But I hate using slug pellets - so cruel. I was thinking maybe a crumpled cover of wire netting, more dense at the bottom and sides which would protect from both snails/slugs and birds?

 

Er I hate to say this, but the culprits are probably lurking under the stones you put round the roots. Remove them and put bark mulch down rather than pebbles.

 

Really? Like what?